Sports activities can be more enjoyable while listening to music or other audio entertainment. The time spent exercising can also be made more productive by listening to informational or motivational speech. Many portable radios, tape players, compact disc players and the like sound-generating devices exist which facilitate such listening during sports activities, such as bicycling or roller skating. Often, however, in sports activities, the participant moves sufficiently fast relative to the ground that a protective helmet is advisable for reducing injuries in the event of an accidental fall, spill or collision.
There have been a number of devices in which helmets or protective head gear have been constructed or otherwise adapted with speakers which can be listened to while wearing the head gear. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,094,645 issued on Sep. 15, 1959 to Sarles discloses a helmet having portions of the earphones covered with resilient rubber-like pads surrounding the sound emitting portions of the earphone. The wearer is shielded by the pads against hard rubbing contact. External sounds are also shielded from the wearer's ears.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,586,977 issued on Jun. 22, 1971 to Lustig discloses a hard shell motorcycle helmet having speakers fixed securely to the interior of the helmet. The speaker faces are normal to the ear canal so that sound is directed straight into the wearer's ears. The helmet entirely covers the ear so that the hard shell and interior padding shield exterior sounds from being heard by the wearer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,916,312 issued on Oct. 28, 1975 to W. L. Campbell, discloses a speaker attached to the exterior of a hard shell helmet with an "ear funnel" formed through the shell between the speaker and the wearer's ear channel. Sound waves are directed from the speaker straight through the ear funnel into the wearer's ears. A microphone unit is also attached for communication from one motorcycle rider to another. Again, the helmet is designed with complete ear coverage such that external sounds are shielded and sounds from the speaker through the ear funnel essentially saturate the wearer's hearing.
In yet another helmet disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,105 issued on Aug. 22, 1978 to Von Statten, Jr., stereophonic speakers are adjacent the wearer's ears on either side safely ensconced within the soft lining of a hard shell motorcycle helmet. The speaker enclosure includes a wire-like screen and a rubber-like pad which is designed to protect the user's head and ears from injury upon impact. The speakers are positioned to direct sound straight into the ear canals. The hard shell exterior of the motorcycle helmet as well as the helmet lining shield external sounds from being heard by the wearer.
Separate and apart from protective head gear, others have directed their-efforts to improving real life sound reproduction using headphones. For example, one previous headphone advertisement has shown speakers spaced apart from the ears but directed substantially straight toward the ear. To avoid interfering with the sound reproduction, conventional ear cushions surrounding the ear are not used. Instead, the speakers adjacently overlay the ear without touching it. A small spaced apart distance is maintained with temple pads. Minor angular adjustments of the speaker position allows closely spaced non-contacting fit of the speakers. Direct access of external sounds into the ear canal would be shielded by the overlaying speakers.
Some have experimented with high technology sound systems and earphones which direct sound at various angles toward and past the wearer's ears, attempting to recreate real life stereophonic or symphonic listening experiences. For example, Japanese Patent 55-90197 issued Jul. 8, 1980 to Matsushita Denki Sangyo K.K. depicts in its drawings various speaker positions. Multiple speakers are shown positioned underneath each ear. A sophisticated time delay electroacoustic converter causes sound generation in the various speakers to obtain a natural listening state. A sound image is electronically "positioned" in front of a listener by adding adequate equalizers and delay circuits to the right and left of stereo headphone speakers.
Another attempt to provide sound image localization with a headphone is shown in Japanese Patent No. 53-23601 issued Apr. 3, 1978 to Nippon Victor K.K. which depicts headphones on a headband which holds sets of three (3) speakers at either side of the wearer. The speakers are shown mounted in front of the ears, behind the ears, and either above or below the ears, apparently so that the high frequency sound image localization in the entire circumferential direction may be made clear. Each of the two foregoing headphones appears to have been directed to producing a sound image which essentially saturates the wearer's hearing from multiple directions to reproduce a real life listening experience. There is no suggestion of including such devices within any protective head gear. There is no suggestion that it might be beneficial for the listener to also hear external sounds which are not controlled, produced or emitted by the special sound image headphones to be listened to by the wearer.
In each previous instance where protective head gear was involved, the inherent design of the devices was such that external sounds were shielded or otherwise excluded, as by directional sound saturation. In the case of helmets for motorcycles or motorized vehicles, excessive engine noises and exhaust pipe noises suggested that exclusion of external sounds may have been desirable. However, in the case of physical sports activities, such as bicycling, roller skating, inline roller skating, ice skating, skate boards and other similar activities where the participant is self-propelled at substantial speeds relative to the ground, where such activities are conducted in environments such as sidewalks, trails, cross walks, roadways and the like, protective head gear which excludes external noises or which entirely saturates the hearing of the wearer, has been found to be undesirable. Sounds of approaching vehicular traffic, warning sounds such as horns, buzzers, or vocal communications from other bicyclists, skaters, or other passing traffic is desirable for both the safety of the wearer, as well as the safety of others in the area. Prior headphones without a helmet did not provide impact protection and have been designed and constructed so that they exclude externally originating sounds by coverage, shielding, or sound saturation.